Anthem took E3 by storm last year by showing off a beautiful science fiction third-person shooter that teased the connected experience of Destiny with a great deal more freedom to explore. It subsequently surprised onlookers with a release window pointing toward Fall 2018, but it turns out that idea was "never realistic." It also turns out the development team is under a lot of pressure to deliver with Anthem's launch due to EA's troubling rollout of Battlefront II, Mass Effect Andromeda's performance, YouTubers' portrayal of EA as a villain, and more.

The troubling update comes from GamesIndustry.biz via Kotaku's report, a report that attributes the info to three people close to the development of Anthem over at Bioware. EA hasn't given any official comment on the report, but the sources point toward a handful of things influencing Anthem's development currently:

"Beyond time constraints, BioWare developers said they were under greater pressure to deliver with Anthem thanks to a number of other recent events throughout the games industry. For example, the disappointing sales of last year's Mass Effect Andromeda and the subsequent folding of BioWare Montreal into EA Motive had at least one source worried that if Anthem doesn't fulfill EA's expectations that the remaining BioWare studios in Edmonton and Austin, both of which are now focused on Anthem, could be in line for a significant overhaul."

We'll update this story as more information is made available but, hopefully, Anthem's potential won't be squandered before it reaches the homes of the players and cause a ripple that ends with more studios closing.

Charles Singletary Jr keeps the updates flowing as the News Editor, breaking stories while investigating the biggest topics in gaming and technology. He's pretty active on Twitter, so feel free to reach out to him @The_CSJR. Got a hot tip? Email him at Charles.Singletary@Shacknews.com.